Will I love A Dowry of Blood?

The Brides of Dracula are a classic overlooked group. Most adaptations treat them like a sexy slideshow of danger, not allowed to do anything other than lust and hunger. They’re a flattened idea of feminine desire, put on Dracula’s leash.

S.T. Gibson breathes them to life (or undeath) by imagining what their long existence is like, constantly under a temperamental abuser’s thumb. Yes, they are angry and hungry, and they yearn, but it’s a deeply human yearning for more than companionship. You root for them to be the ones to plunge knives into the count’s heart.

A Dowry of Blood is an homage to Dracula’s brides, written entirely in epistolary format by his first bride, Constanta. It starts in the middle ages and spans several centuries as Dracula (ever nameless in this book) collects two more brides besides Constanta, creating an MFFM polycule.

It’s a repudiation of abusive romantic relationships, and to that end it’s deeply satisfying. A Dowry of Blood is a standalone gothic horror, with an all-bisexual cast of vampires.

This Dracula retelling is bite-sized (pun intended) and beautiful, and I absolutely recommend the audiobook. In it, the brides of Dracula contend with their own inner demons, and the wavering, inconsistent love of their abuser, Dracula. It’s queer, explores polyamory, and takes a dark look into the way that the ones we love can ruin our lives. Having loved a Dracula or two in my day, I found the book cathartic, and I’d recommend it to anyone who needs to process the loss of a toxic love.